Breaking down Lexi Howard's play from 'Euphoria' with Maude Apatow
by Ana Walia | Tue, 22 Feb 2022 17:55:20 GMT
Image Source: Us Weekly, IMDb

The most popular show right now, HBO Max’s ‘Euphoria’ has managed to hold the attention of the audience especially when it comes to season two. One of the stars of the show, Maude Apatow who plays Lexi Howard on the show is now breaking down her famous play, ‘Our Life’.

Maude Apatow’s character Lexi Howard is one of the most underrated characters on the show but she has had her purpose served in season two by putting on a play about her life, ‘friends’, and observations about the same. In episode 7 titled ‘The Theatre and it's Double’, Lexi showcases her play to the entire school and showcases the complex relationships she has had with the people in her life, especially the women.

Maude Apatow shared with Variety that putting on a play was fun but challenging to film, which can be seen while watching the intricate episode. The actress who has been applauded for her portrayal of Lexi Howard shared that the storyline with the play was ‘semi-collaboration’ with creator Sam Levinson. She said, “It was loosely inspired by my high school play that I produced. Everyone in the theater department hated me, but I really wanted to do a good job.” Dwelling more on why would Lexi Howard put on her life’s play in front of the entire school especially when it comes to taking small digs at the people who mean so much to her, Maude shared that she believes that her character felt that the play’s production was the only thing she felt she had control over, where Lexi was not sidelined by the other characters.

A still from Lexi's play. Image Source: Just Jared 

The actress also shared with Entertainment Weekly, “All this stuff about Lexi getting aggro backstage, that was all just based on me in high school. Once we talked about the idea, Sam went in and wrote it all.” She was asked if the play played a significant role in giving the audience a back story about her character to which she said, “What I thought was really interesting that Sam did is we have this backstory with Lexi and Cassie's dad, and we get to see how everything that went down when they were kids, they saw it so differently. And they're the same scenes in my flashbacks and in Sydney's, and how both of the characters saw them completely differently, and how the same experiences affected them in different ways. I thought it was interesting how Sam did that.”

Maude Apatow who had not stepped on-stage since high school was really excited to work with co-star Austin Abrams who was literally the star of Lexi’s play after Lexi. Maude explained, “It took a long time to film that sequence because it was so complicated. There were a lot of audience shots to consider… Sam had to make sure that the shots in the play connected to real memories and they had to be perfectly timed and interwoven. We felt really good about it at the moment.”

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Talking about Austin Abrams who was equally excited to portray various characters in Lexi’s play shared with Variety, “We filmed that over a three-day span, and it was a lot of work. It took a lot of physical exertion. I was doing that dance a million times over those days. But, I loved the dance, I loved the guys that I was dancing with and it felt very real. I loved the energy exchanged between the performers and the actors and the audience because there was a crowd there.” The last dance of Lexi’s play was choreographed and orchestrated by Ryan Heffington who also shared that he hadn’t done such a crazy and wonderful choreography in a while so he was equally thrilled to see how all of it turns out.

Maude Apatow went ahead and praised Sam Levinson and adds, “He's just so smart, and he's seen like every movie on earth. He just has so much knowledge and he's so passionate, and I think he's so funny too. I just have such a fun time working with him. I definitely knew I wanted to work with Sam again because I just think very highly of him and feel really lucky that I get to see him work because he's just so creative and talented. It's really cool to watch.”

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The actress shared with Entertainment Weekly that she had an idea that her character would get her desired arc in season two and season one would just be really light for her but she was in love with the story so much that she went ahead with the show and kept waiting for her day. Maude Apatow also shared about how Sam Levinson channelizes the personal experience of an actor into the storyline and shared, “Sam and I have talked a lot about how we both are anxious in life, and being able to channel all of that anxiety and those feelings into making something and using it. I feel like my writing and my acting, that's what I do, and I think Sam also does that, and that's what Lexi does. Everything in her life is sort of chaotic, her sister and Rue, and she just channels all of that into making this perfect play and putting everything she has into it. And I think that that's what Sam does with the show. He's so invested in making it amazing, and he cares so much. That's another reason working with him is so great because he really does care, you can feel it. You wanna do a good job for him, but you also know he's got your back.”

What are going to be the consequences of Lexi's play for her 'friends' is for the audience to watch out in the finale episode of 'Euphoria'. 

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